Search: Starring Tahar Rahim

Alpha exists in the intersection of the probable and the parable.

Like its subject, this is a film that takes time to develop.

Rahim shows here that A Prophet was no fluke.

Although the actors acquit themselves with some distinction the performances cannot quite disguise the one dimensional aspect of the characters.

Anna Dorval as the transplant's recipient, Dominique Blanc's surgeon, and Emmanuelle Seigner's turn as the mother of the donor are all note-perfect.

She won't marry. She refuses. Is she lesbian? Hey, that's an idea. Let's investigate.

Despite Rahim's excellent work, the real standout here is Benedict Cumberbatch.

Even at its most epic there's something lacklustre about it all, as if the whole thing were being printed in ink-saving mode.

Joachim LaFosse's film builds, inexorably, to an ending that we know from the start is coming.

Farhadi peels away the layers with simplicity, revealing the complicated and detailed emotions which lurk very close to the surface.

An unlikely, but highly effective, marriage of arthouse and mainstream sensibilities.

The film has all the bullet points for audience approval and yet somehow falls short